Amazon MGM Studios held a low-key panel at this year’s CinemaCon celebration with Masters of the Universe and Project Hail Mary.
CinemaCon 2025 keeps tuckin’, and tonight, we have a presentation from Amazon! The studio’s been in the news lately with speculation about the future of the James Bond franchise, exciting new titles coming to Prime Video, and more. Tonight’s showcase began with a trailer for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Project Hail Mary, a dystopian sci-fi film starring Ryan Gosling, Milana Vayntrub, and Sandra Hüller.
Project Hail Mary is based on a book by Andy Weir, and our editor-in-chief, Chris Bumbray, says the movie looks very much like The Martian. Gosling is a high school teacher recruited on a mission to save the planet. The difference is a lot of it is him preparing for a suicide mission. The trailer includes a lot of comedy but also has a considerable scale. The footage shows Gosling on his mission alone as he grows a huge beard. The film looks like a big swing from Amazon/ MGM. The trailer got a huge reaction from the audience. The preview ends with Gosling meeting an alien lifeform with whom he bonds. The alien’s name is Rocky, and he is “the most lovable alien since ET.” The score is by Harry Styles, a sign of the times. Do you feel old yet? I certainly do.
Lord and Miller were in attendance, saying Grieg Frasier shoots the movie. The duo stresses the need to see Project Hail Mary in theaters. Meanwhile, Gosling joked, “We tried to put it on TV once, and it didn’t fit.”
Based on the novel by Andy Weir (The Martian), Project Hail Mary stars Ryan Gosling as “a middle school science teacher, Ryland Grace, who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He must figure out how to complete his interstellar mission to save Earth from an astronomical catastrophe completely alone, until he meets a mysterious alien who has traveled light years to save his own species from the same fate.” Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall) also stars as Eva Stratt, Ryland’s superior.
Who’s ready for more from Amazon’s Masters of the Universe? The studio debuted concept art from its highly-anticipated film starring Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam, aka He-Man. Galitzine looks strikingly like the famous cartoon character. He’s in incredible shape. Amazon leans in a heavy fantasy direction for the film. There seem to be many sword fights, and the costumes are insane. It looks like the classic cartoon in ways we did not expect.
Masters of the Universe follows “ten-year-old Prince Adam, who crashed to Earth in a spaceship and was separated from his magical Power Sword—the only link to his home on Eternia. After tracking it down almost two decades later, Prince Adam is whisked back across space to defend his home planet against the evil forces of Skeletor. But to defeat such a powerful villain, Prince Adam will first need to uncover the mysteries of his past and become He-Man: the most powerful man in the Universe.“
Nicholas Galitzine (Mary & George) stars as He-Man, and he’s joined by Camila Mendes (Riverdale) as Teela, Jared Leto (Morbius) as the villainous Skeletor, Idris Elba (Luther) as Man-at-Arms (a.k.a. Duncan), GLOW’s Alison Brie as Skeletor’s second-in-command Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin (Deadpool & Wolverine) as The Sorceress, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Captain America: Brave New World) as Malcolm (a.k.a. Fisto), Sam C. Wilson (Dodger) as Trap Jaw, Hafthor Bjornsson (Game of Thrones) as Goat Man, Kojo Attah (The Beekeeper) as Tri-Klops, and James Purefoy (A Knight’s Tale) and Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders) as He-Man’s parents, King Randor and Queen Marlena.
Masters of the Universe is directed by Travis Knight from a script by Chris Butler and is set to hit theaters on June 5, 2026.
